I cut of a big piece of canvas and put it on my work table and my intention was to make a big random background that I would paint over, and just reveal "bits" of it under the next layer.

I took out some templates that I had carved a few years ago and filled up the canvas.

OK. Maybe a very abstract bird on top of that. Then some, uh, bars, yeah, like the idea of a bird cage on top of that! Oh! I was going full steam ahead now!

Ewww.

That looked like crap. Bad bad idea on top of horrible color choices.

I went home for the night, thinking that perhaps in the morning it would look better.Nope.Still crap.Well, the price on the canvas I buy has more than doubled, so no wasting it allowed. So how to make it better?

I cut the canvas in half - cause there was just TOO much ugly to look at. Sometimes, I can almost taste when colors and patterns don't jive and that one was like something from the forgotten reaches in the back of the fridge. It was N A S T Y. I painted some flower pod things on top of it.Getting better….Like some mouthwash after barfing.

Here's the two halves. I painted the background green to cover most of the icky colors and let just a shadow of them show through. I was liking this and could hardly wait to paint the other half!I will post a photo when I get to the studio today.They came out great.

My goal for 2013 was to get into a Portland art gallery.At 10:30pm on December 31st, I received an email from a Portland gallery asking if I wanted to be represented by them.HELLO!Yes!Don't you just LOVE that??I am taking art tomorrow to Love Art Gallery in Portland!

I painted some "Love Birds" this week for Love Art Gallery.

I had a spin-art-wheel when I was a kid and this technique I was playing with reminded me of that.

I loved how the colors bled into each other.

I am still not finished - but there will be a calm white bird on that spiral crazed background!

I got snowbound for almost 6 days and could hardly wait to get to my studio to PAINT! This is what happened when I got back to painting. Big - about 4' tall and will be about 2 1/2 foot wide when stretched. Whew! I feel much better now!

Springtime is right around the corner and I have been painting up a plethora of flowers and birds!

This is an iPad painting that I painted - then used the Snapseed app to put a "frame" around it - then used an app called, "Walnut" to put in on a stock photo wall. I liked it!But…. could I paint it for real?

I am always in a hurry as evidenced by the paint splattered blow dryer.

I usually lay a piece of canvas flat on my worktable. Then when it is done, I lay it flat on the stack of "done" paintings and it takes very little room to store them.I buy wood at the lumber yard and I have a friend who will cut and measure ( all skills that I have none of) and she will then stretch the canvas around the wood and bring me back a painting that is ready to go!